Concrete railroad tie



July 14, 1931.

J. C. BUCKBEE CONCRETE RAILROAD TIE 2 Sheets-Sheet l Filed Dec. 6. 1929M mun- 2,, magi? llllllll w l w llll lllllll 1....|||||| H i PatentedJuly 14, 1931 JOHN G. 'BUCKBEE, or CHICAGO, ILLINOIS cornea-nan RAILROADTIE Application filed December 5, 1929. Serial No. 412,079.

This invention relates to improvements in railroad ties and moreparticularly to ties constructed of reinforcedconcrete and of animproved design calculated to increase the stability of road beds and toimprove operating conditions of railroads; generally. i

The function of ties inrailway constructionis too well known to requirean extended discussion In brief, the ties are embedded 10 in the roadbed at relatively short intervals and the rails laid along the ties andanchored by spikes. Tie plates are usually inserted between the ties andthe rails together with some form'of anti-creeping device to prevent therails from shifting lengthwise.

Assuming'a tie to be roughly eight feet in length and the standardfgaugeof track to be approximately five feet between rail centers, it followsthat the rails are supported 1% feet from" the ends of the ties and2feet from the centers. Taking in'to consideration the fact that thecenter of a road bed tends I to remain compact and solid whilethe :outeredge portions tend to loosen and become soft under the action ofpassing"trains,'it follows thatthere exists condition of improperloaddistribution, considering each tie as a beam andthe road bed as thefoundation, and the further fa'ctthat a tie not only supends than thecenter, but the foundation is less solid beneath the end portions of therails'which support the greater portion of the load on the rails. Iheresult therefore 'i s that the trackway, i. e., the ties and rails,

tend rto balance Onjthe more solid central portion ofthe road bed unlessthis condition is overcome by continuous track' maintenanfce, that is,by tamping the ballast under 40 the ends of the ties. v f v V I WViththe continualincrease iii the weight of rolling stock used uponrailroads, it be comes increasingly apparent that while the size ofrails has been materially increased, the foundations upon whichthefrails are laid have not kept pace, with the result that the problemof road'maintenanceis one of the major concernsof railway operation. It

at invention a needs which i ther tereg he hi fv pbje t 1ofjthei ntldeparts rails.

,from the usual design by taking into ac;

deterioration over a long period ofQyearsl And finally, the object ofthe invention is to provide a practical and satisfactory anchorage forthe rail upon'the tie, with the f provision for adjustment, in the widthof rail flange or in the gauge of the track.

A preferred embodiment of the invention is disclosed in the accompanyingdrawings, in which I Figure 1 is a top plan View of the tie and railanchorage assembly;

Figure 2 is a view in side elevation of the tie with rails supportedthereon;

Figure 3 is a perspective view of the tie;

Figure 4 is a view in cross section taken on line 44 of Figure'Z;

t Figure 5 is a view in end elevation of the tie; it

Figure 6 is an enlarged top plan view of c the rail anchorage assembly;30 portsf'the railsfat points much nearer the I Figure 7 is a chorplate; and V Figure 8 is an enlarged detail view in vertical sectiontaken on line 88 of Figure 6..

perspective view of the an- 0 Considering the tie as a structuralmemher, it is in. reality a reinforced concrete beam designed to meetthe load conditions peculiar to its function as a support for The tiewould be made in a mold or I form according to the usual practice in the.mixing and pouring of concrete and the in-' gredlents being selectedand proportioned .to give the t1e the desired strength.

7 In its general dimensions and proportions, the tie is approximately 8feet in length and of substantially square section throughout itscentral portion,although itsv heightis slightly greaterthan its width.[Theend portions ofthetie diverge or spread laterally to approximatelytwice the Width the area of the central portion lyingbetween the rails.In short, the primary purpose in the designing of thetie is to equalizethe supporting values outside of therails with that between the rails.This does not mean that theareas need be exactly equalized or that theend portions need have a tapered conformation, but rather that the endportions be substantially widened so that the load distribution will beproperly spread throughout the length of the tie. V

Thus,1as shown in Figures 1 to 3, the tie constructed of reinforcedconcrete has a central portion 1 of,"say, 6 inches in width and 7 or 8inches in height. The widened end portions 2, 2 begin to widen outwardlyat points inwardly from the center lines of the rails 3, 3'and justbelow the inside edge of the bottom flange of the rails, as shown inFigure 1,"and continue to points halfway between the rails and the endsof the tie where'the sides of 'the't iescontinue along parallel lines tothe extreme ends.

The top ofthe central portion 1 of the tie is beveled or taperedslightlyalong its side edges for a depth of, say, 2 inches, this beveledtop section la'heing prolonged to the extreme ends of the tie.

may be employed, the following is preferred: Extending the length of thetie and lying. in its central vertical plane are two straight rods 4t,4;, one near the top and the other near its bottom. On either side ofthe center rods are two arched rods 5, 5,- the central portions of theserods extending through the central portion 1 of the tie on either sideof the upper straight rod 4:, and thence inclineddownwardly, bringingtheir end portions along the bottom ofthe end portions of the tie and inthe plane of the lower straight rod 4. v

For fastening the rails 3, 3,to the tie, the

following parts are preferably employedz Qhan'nel-shaped' tie plates 6,6,'seat.upo'n the tie in inverted position beneath the rails, their sideflanges fittin snugly-lover the beveled top section 1a thereof, thussecurely holding it against transverse displacement or in. a directicn gise of the rails.

V in its top surface near its apex.

If desired, cushions or pads (5a, of oiled felt or other materials maybe inserted between the top of the tie and the plates to aid inabsorbing the shock of passing trains and to give a better bearing ofthe tie plate on the tie.

Embedded in the tie just beneath the tie i plates 6, 6 are anchor plates8, 8 consisting of hollow metal castings of a general U- shape, withtheir top faces lying flush with the topfaee of the tie. As shown inFigure 7 each casting has two parallel hollow Jarms 7a, 7a,having pairsof T-slots 7b, 7?) extending longitudinally from opposite sides ofrectangular openings 70, disposed cen' trally of the arms. These armsare -connected integrally at one end by a tapered housing 8 having arectangular opening 8a This open ing is elongated slightly in adirection transversel'y'of the casting, and extendingin- Also integralwith the anchor plate 'and depending from the central portion of each'wardly therefrom and in line with its end of the arms 7a, 7a thereofare cylindric'an-,

chors 9, each having an enlargement 9a at its lower'endandaxial passages97) communicating with the interior of the'hollow arms- 7a at theirupper ends. As shown in Fig" Figure 8, the anchor plates 7 H arecovered-by the tie plates '6 with the eX- The tie is preferablyreinforced by' steel, rods or bars embeddedin the solid concrete,andalthough' any method of reinforcing ception of the tapered endportions 8, which project beyondthe outer end of each tie ure 8,"theseanchors are of sufficient length to extend downwardly through the tiewith" the bottom flange thereofj Moreover, these i bolt holesregisterwith the T slots 7]), 7b in the anchor plate "7'? beneath. I Thus beforethe rails' arelaid, four rail bolts 10 arefitted. into each anchorplate-by inserting their head ends into the large central opening 7 c ineach arm 7a and then sliding them 'outwardly to the ends of theT-slots.' The through the bolt holes in the tie plates 6 as thesamearefitted onto the tie, 'and'then after the rail has ibeen'j laid inplacefclips 11 are mounted on the projecting ends of the boltsoverlappingthebottom flange of the rail and nuts 7; To complete.

a c threaded ends of the bolts are then inserted 12,12 lastly appliedand .tighteneddownj. 1 1 f he "raillan'chorage a 'ra'ilf brace is"preferably added to the assemb1y,i. v

the same being applicable to either one or both rails, to each tie or toties at various intervals apart, depending on the requirements at anygiven point along the road bed. The brace is designed to serve both as asupport on the outside of a rail and as an adjusting member to permitlateral shifting of the rail.

The rail brace consists of a cast metal shoe 13, having a head. 13ashaped to fit snugly against the side of the rail between the head andthe bottom flange and a tapered extension 13?) projecting laterallybeyond. the edge of the bottom flange of the rail and bearing upon thetie plate 6. The shoe 18 has a backing member 14 consisting of a blockof metal having a curved or hookshaped projection 14a at its lower endadapted to be inserted through the opening 8a in the extended endportion 8 of the anchor plate, with itsend projecting laterally into thecavity below said opening. The main portion of the block projects abovethe anchor plate and along its outer face is an integral lug 146 whichseats upon the outer edge of the anchor plate and thus holds the backingblock against displacement. Mounted in the backing block is a set screw15 extending horizontally therethrough and turning in a nut 16 whichseats in a recess 16a formed in the inner face of the block. The end ofthe set screw bears against a vertical abutment face at the outer end ofthe shoe 13, while its opposite end extends beyond the outer face of theblock and is provided with a square head 15a, and adjacent thereto is acheck nut 17.

The rail brace may be omitted as a part of the rail anchorage, in fact,the anchor plate 7 may be designed without provision for receiving thebacking block 14 and thus serve only as retainers for the rail bolts.However, to avoid the necessity of providing more than one type of tie,it is preferred to use the same anchor plate for all ties and omit therail brace where not needed.

It may be explained in connection with the anchor plate that provisionfor drainage is considered desirable in view of the possibility of wateraccumulating and freezing in the hollow interior sections, with thepossibility of rupturing the casting.

And finally, it is to be noted that a continuous V-shaped groove 18extends entirely around the sides and ends of the tie, midway betweenthe top and bottom. The pur-' pose of this groove is to permit the useof tongs or other mechanical equipment for handling and laying the ties.

Having disclosed a preferred embodiment of my invention, I claim:

1. A railroad tie comprising a beam of' reinforced concrete having arelatively narrow top section extending throughoutits length, invertedchannel-shaped tie plates Seating Over said p ction at the PQ Ilts ofrail support, anchor plates embedded in said tie beneath said tieplates, each comprising a hollow casting provided in its top wall withslots extending transversely beyond the edges of therail flange andhaving enlarged entrance openings beneath said prising a beam adapted tosupport the rails at points inwardly from each end and having arelatively narrow top section with beveled sides extending the length ofthe tie, tie plates seating over said top section at the points of railsupport, and rail anchoring members embedded in the top face of the tiebeneath said tie plates, and comprising hollow castings having integraltubular extensions through said tie.

3. A railroad tie comprising a concrete beam adapted to support therails at points spaced inwardly from the ends thereof, anchor platesembedded in the top surface of said beam beneath the points of railsupport, and each consisting of a hollow casting provided in its topwall with an opening lying beneath the rail flange, slots extendinglaterally from said opening beyond the edges of said rail flange and aseparate opening adjacent one edge of said rail, rail bolts adapted tobe inserted into said slots and a rail brace including a block having aportion insertable in said last mentioned opening.

Signed at Chicago, 111., this 3rd day of December, 1929.

JOHN C.- BUCKBEE.

